Shattered Illusions

KGB Cold War Espionage in Canada

Donald G. Mahar - Foreword by Ward Elcock

Yevgeni Vladimirovich Brik and James Douglas Finley Morrison were central figures in what was considered one of the most important Cold War operations in the West at the time. Their story, which involves espionage, intelligence tradecraft, intelligence service penetrations, double agent scenarios, and betrayal, is a piece of Cold War intelligence history that has never been fully told.

Yevgeni Brik was a KGB deep cover illegal who had been dispatched to Canada in 1951. He settled in Verdun, Quebec. He eventually became the KGB Illegal Resident where he had responsibility for running a number of agents, one of whom was working on the CF-105, Avro Arrow. In 1953, he fell in love with a married Canadian woman to whom he revealed his true identity. She persuaded him to turn himself in, which resulted in his becoming a double agent, working for Canada. He was later betrayed by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer, James Morrison, who sought money from the KGB to pay his debts. Brik was consequently lured back to Moscow in 1955, where he was arrested, and interrogated. Convicted of treason, a traitor’s fate awaited him, predictable, grim and final. Incredibly, he reappeared at a British Embassy as an old man in 1992, seeking Canada’s help. He was exfiltrated by a joint Canadian / British intelligence team which was headed by Donald Mahar. He was debriefed by Mahar for several months when they returned to Canada.« lessmore »

Donald G. Mahar served 41 years in the RCMP Security Service, Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Communications Security Establishment both in Canada and abroad. His career was primarily spent in Counter Intelligence against the Soviet KGB / Russian SVR target. He currently serves as president of the Pillar Society, the retirement / alumni organization for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the former RCMP Security Service

AcknowledgementsForewordPreface

1. Flight to Rio 2. The City of Light 3. From the Baltic to the Land of Liberty 4. The KGB Beckons 5. KGB Directorate ‘S’, Illegals Department 6. Dispatched to Canada 7. Becoming Established in the Canadian Shield 8. Rocky Mountains and Love in the Prairies 9. A Change of HART10. Gideon and Operation Keystone11. Trouble in Paradise12. Brik’s Advancement to Active Espionage13. Shades of Gouzenko14. For the Sake of a Smoked Meat Sandwich15. The Mountie Who Became Long Knife16. A Life in Transition17. Establishing the Framework for Treason18. Betrayal19. Reluctant Guest of Lubyanka20. The Treachery Continues21. Peeling Back the Onion of Deceit22. Back in the Game23. All Appears Lost24. Merry Go Round of Clandestine Meetings25. British SIS in Moscow26. Morrison’s World Unravels27. Yevgeni Brik’s Final Days28. The End of the Road29. Exposed by the Media30. An Astounding Revelation31. The Devil is in the Details32. Into the Breach33. The Lost Years34. Strange Bed Fellows35. Temnikovskiy Department of Camps36. Time Served37. Perestroika, Glasnost and the Soviet Railway System38. Vilnius, Lithuania

Don Mahar adheres meticulously to truth. His first non-fiction book, Shattered Illusions, is a story that shocks and dismays in Mahar's 'facts only' recounting of unimaginable hubris, horrific greed, and total lack of humanity. This, coupled with obsessive governmental aversion to scandal, makes for a scathing read. At the very least, you will be alerted to the very real, highly likely and all too commonplace global intrigue machinations swirling about us.— Barbara George, Deputy Commissioner, Retired, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

Shattered Illusions is an incredible story of Cold War spy operations involving the KGB and Canadian intelligence services. Remarkably, the story is factual! Written like a John LeCarre novel, Don Mahar writes in a fast-paced style, prompting the reader to seek out the details in forthcoming chapters. Crisp insights into the evils of the former Soviet Union and its murderous regimes, coupled with the difficulties in handling foreign agents, astounds the reader, especially when surprising betrayal from inside compromises the entire intelligence operation. This is one fascinating story!— John W. Whiteside III, (FBI - Ret.) Author, FOOL's MATE - A True Story of Espionage at NSA

An unforgettable, true-life spy saga, narrated by a decorated intelligence veteran personally involved in one of the most dramatic episodes in Canada’s Cold-War-era history. Drawing from previously unpublished documents as well as the author’s own memories, Donald G. Mahar’s Shattered Illusions guides the reader through surprising turns and twists in a story of deception and betrayal on the front lines of the secret war with the Soviet Union.— Joby Warrick, author, Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS; winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction

A true account of a clandestine, Cold War Soviet KGB Illegals operation in Canada written by the Canadian intelligence officer who facilitated the Soviet double agent’s return to Canada and debriefed him afterwards.

This failed soviet KGB operation in Canada tells the story of two double agents, one Soviet and one Canadian. The Soviet was betrayed by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, captured by the KGB, imprisoned, and counted as dead until he reappeared 36 years later in a British embassy and traded back to Canada.

Foreword by Ward Elcock, Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service 1994-2004 and Deputy Minister of National Defence from 2004 – 2007

Shattered Illusions

KGB Cold War Espionage in Canada

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Summary

Summary

Yevgeni Vladimirovich Brik and James Douglas Finley Morrison were central figures in what was considered one of the most important Cold War operations in the West at the time. Their story, which involves espionage, intelligence tradecraft, intelligence service penetrations, double agent scenarios, and betrayal, is a piece of Cold War intelligence history that has never been fully told.

Yevgeni Brik was a KGB deep cover illegal who had been dispatched to Canada in 1951. He settled in Verdun, Quebec. He eventually became the KGB Illegal Resident where he had responsibility for running a number of agents, one of whom was working on the CF-105, Avro Arrow. In 1953, he fell in love with a married Canadian woman to whom he revealed his true identity. She persuaded him to turn himself in, which resulted in his becoming a double agent, working for Canada. He was later betrayed by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer, James Morrison, who sought money from the KGB to pay his debts. Brik was consequently lured back to Moscow in 1955, where he was arrested, and interrogated. Convicted of treason, a traitor’s fate awaited him, predictable, grim and final. Incredibly, he reappeared at a British Embassy as an old man in 1992, seeking Canada’s help. He was exfiltrated by a joint Canadian / British intelligence team which was headed by Donald Mahar. He was debriefed by Mahar for several months when they returned to Canada.

Donald G. Mahar served 41 years in the RCMP Security Service, Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Communications Security Establishment both in Canada and abroad. His career was primarily spent in Counter Intelligence against the Soviet KGB / Russian SVR target. He currently serves as president of the Pillar Society, the retirement / alumni organization for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the former RCMP Security Service

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

AcknowledgementsForewordPreface

1. Flight to Rio 2. The City of Light 3. From the Baltic to the Land of Liberty 4. The KGB Beckons 5. KGB Directorate ‘S’, Illegals Department 6. Dispatched to Canada 7. Becoming Established in the Canadian Shield 8. Rocky Mountains and Love in the Prairies 9. A Change of HART10. Gideon and Operation Keystone11. Trouble in Paradise12. Brik’s Advancement to Active Espionage13. Shades of Gouzenko14. For the Sake of a Smoked Meat Sandwich15. The Mountie Who Became Long Knife16. A Life in Transition17. Establishing the Framework for Treason18. Betrayal19. Reluctant Guest of Lubyanka20. The Treachery Continues21. Peeling Back the Onion of Deceit22. Back in the Game23. All Appears Lost24. Merry Go Round of Clandestine Meetings25. British SIS in Moscow26. Morrison’s World Unravels27. Yevgeni Brik’s Final Days28. The End of the Road29. Exposed by the Media30. An Astounding Revelation31. The Devil is in the Details32. Into the Breach33. The Lost Years34. Strange Bed Fellows35. Temnikovskiy Department of Camps36. Time Served37. Perestroika, Glasnost and the Soviet Railway System38. Vilnius, Lithuania

Don Mahar adheres meticulously to truth. His first non-fiction book, Shattered Illusions, is a story that shocks and dismays in Mahar's 'facts only' recounting of unimaginable hubris, horrific greed, and total lack of humanity. This, coupled with obsessive governmental aversion to scandal, makes for a scathing read. At the very least, you will be alerted to the very real, highly likely and all too commonplace global intrigue machinations swirling about us.— Barbara George, Deputy Commissioner, Retired, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

Shattered Illusions is an incredible story of Cold War spy operations involving the KGB and Canadian intelligence services. Remarkably, the story is factual! Written like a John LeCarre novel, Don Mahar writes in a fast-paced style, prompting the reader to seek out the details in forthcoming chapters. Crisp insights into the evils of the former Soviet Union and its murderous regimes, coupled with the difficulties in handling foreign agents, astounds the reader, especially when surprising betrayal from inside compromises the entire intelligence operation. This is one fascinating story!— John W. Whiteside III, (FBI - Ret.) Author, FOOL's MATE - A True Story of Espionage at NSA

An unforgettable, true-life spy saga, narrated by a decorated intelligence veteran personally involved in one of the most dramatic episodes in Canada’s Cold-War-era history. Drawing from previously unpublished documents as well as the author’s own memories, Donald G. Mahar’s Shattered Illusions guides the reader through surprising turns and twists in a story of deception and betrayal on the front lines of the secret war with the Soviet Union.— Joby Warrick, author, Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS; winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction

Features

Features

A true account of a clandestine, Cold War Soviet KGB Illegals operation in Canada written by the Canadian intelligence officer who facilitated the Soviet double agent’s return to Canada and debriefed him afterwards.

This failed soviet KGB operation in Canada tells the story of two double agents, one Soviet and one Canadian. The Soviet was betrayed by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, captured by the KGB, imprisoned, and counted as dead until he reappeared 36 years later in a British embassy and traded back to Canada.

Foreword by Ward Elcock, Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service 1994-2004 and Deputy Minister of National Defence from 2004 – 2007